A Tick of A Hand & A Click of A Clock
by emergencymauve
Summary: We all had prolonged questions after the devastating ending of Power Rangers Time Force, even after Reinforcements from the Future. What ever happened to Wes and Jen? Why did Lucas and Katie have next to no character development? Why did they barely even time travel? This is my version of what should have happened after that scene on the beach. Note: Pieces of RFTF NOT cannon.


AN: Pretty straightforward. I was reminiscing my childhood love of Power Rangers via Netflix, rewatched Time Force and came to love it. Except I was let down regarding the fact that Time Force only travelled back to 2000 and never before then, and also the ending between Wes and Jen. I scrolled through FanFiction to find that I wasn't really drawn to any of the stories it had to offer. Given this and the saying "if you want something done right, do it yourself". As a result, I did just this, and here I am now, typing this. If you would be so kind, please drop a comment of encouragement to motivate me to continue with this as my motivation is currently plummeting as I enter my final semester of high school. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1: Broken

Broken (Reprise)

Tears for Fears

 _In my mind's eye_

 _One little boy, one little man_

 _Funny how time flies_

Jen stretched her arms as she awoke from her slumber.

"Good morning guys," Jen mumbled, proceeding with a yawn. As she rubbed her eyes, she shifted her gaze upward. Where she expected to spot Wes up in the loft, snoozing away, the only thing her eyes met was a blank, white ceiling. Confusion and panic overcame her. She was all alone. Where is everyone? Where am I?

She looked to the side of herself, only to find a pile of clumped tissues. It was in that moment that the scenery of the beach and a heartbreaking goodbye resurfaced in her mind.

Oh, yeah…

She couldn't believe that all of this was just yesterday… it felt like a thousand years ago. Sobs emerged from her body as she realized that that moment truly was a thousand years ago. And that meant that Wes was…no. She couldn't even bear the thought. Her heart was already broken, but it may have just shattered if her thoughts strayed that far.

She clutched the white duvet surrounding her, seeking comfort she knew it did not have the potential to give. All she wanted in that moment was one of Wes' tender hugs. She laid her head back on her pillow. She just wanted to sleep. That way Wes could live, even if only through her dreams.

The second she closed her eyes, there was a light rattle on her apartment door. She shifted in order to pull up a hologram depicting her visitors. The slimmest of smiles pursed her lips as she immediately recognized the blue, green, and yellow color scheme. It immediately went away as soon as it came. It didn't feel right to see such a scheme without red.

She pressed the "Allow" button, which automatically unlocked her door for just those three. Once she did so she turned to her face back into her pillow and released a rage engulfed scream. She just couldn't understand it. When Alex "died" she felt emotion, but nowhere near the extent of this. She knew that she had a mission to carry out at the time, but it still didn't make sense. She had already gone through this before, so why did it hurt so badly?

She sat up as she heard light footsteps paired with whispers approaching. She was shocked when the trio finally came shuffling into view. She must not have been paying much attention to the monitor, as they looked far from normal. Katie's hair was a complete bird's nest with tissue remnants stuck within it, with hints of mascara stains from tears plaguing her face. Trip's eyes were completely bloodshot and he was physically shaking, he must have delved himself into his robotics all night. Lucas, the Lucas Kendall's, hair was flat and matted, not a trace of hair gel present. Jen was completely flabbergasted. It was as though he was naked.

The last thing she noticed about them was that they were all still wearing their 2001 attire, and she looked down to see that she was as well.

She tried to form words with her lips, but nothing seemed to come out. In response, Katie placed her finger to her lips, and then hugged her. Unlike her other ones, this was not bone crippling, as it seemed as though all of her strength had been exhausted. Soon enough Trip, and even Lucas joined in. They all just sat there for what seemed forever, holding one another.

Eventually Jen found the words that she wanted to say.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now," Jen admitted with shame, shifting to sit in a criss cross applesauce position. This seemed like the first time ever she didn't have a ready solution for her problems.

"You don't need to," Lucas said, taking her hand and squeezing it. The others followed suit. "We're all in this together no matter what."

Jen nodded, trying her best to hold in the tears.

"I already miss him so so much," She exhaled.

"I know you do," Trip mumbled. "I've been working all night to try to find a way to make it work so that you guys can return to one another… but I didn't make it far at all."

"That's okay," Jen said, looking into his sad brown eyes. "It just wasn't meant to be."

It was in that moment that the four friends, each bearing a broken heart, laid in that bed, taking comfort in one another presence and existence, knowing they had lost just that of the glue that initially brought them closer than they ever could have imagined.

Wes stirred from his slumber to the sound of water. He wiped his eyes, expecting to look down to see Lucas wetting his hair with tap water before adding his beloved hair gel. Except all that he saw was… sand? Wes lurched forward, panicking.

Where am I? Where are the guys? Why do my eyes burn? Oh. His mind began recovering the memories of yesterday, and all that happened on the beach. The beach where he was currently laying.

He wove his fingers through his tousled hair. He had told his dad that he was okay, but he really wasn't. He missed them. He missed Katie's big smile, Trip's robot lingo, and Lucas' borderline narcissism. Most of all, he missed Jen. She had become his rock, strong and just, one of the many reasons why he loved her.

Love. He had never loved anybody before. Sure, he loved things like martial arts and slacking off, but his life was static. Nothing ever changed, and as a result he never changed. But once he met her, the little things in life just became beautiful. He couldn't help but smile-there was truth in his words, saying the future was bright, as anywhere that Jennifer Scott is should be immediately lit up, and considered lucky.

Wes' bottom lip began to quiver. He drew his knees into his chest, folded his arms above them, dropped his head and sobbed. He would never see her again. The most wonderful woman that he had ever met wouldn't even be born for another nine centuries or so. It was just yesterday, but to her it would've been a thousand years.

He felt as though he had been sitting in his thoughts for a century when he was finally interrupted.

"Somehow I figured I'd find you here," called out a familiarly arrogant. Wes lifted his head, looking toward his now ex-rival, Eric. Instead of his usual Silver Guardian uniform, Eric donned a slightly unbuttoned white dress shirt with black slacks. The slight transparency of his dress shirt made it visible enough to West that Eric had healthy bandaging for his wounds from yesterday's battle.

"This is the only place I felt I could go," Wes explained. "With the clock tower being destroyed and all."

Eric gave and a curt nod, and then took a deep breath.

"Look Wes, I can somewhat imagine what you're going through," Eric sympathized, pointing to his face which was beginning to harbor some five'o'clock shadow. This was saying a lot given the fact he always kept it baby skin clean. "I didn't even really know them at all other than in battle, but even I can feel the effect that they've made on you and countless others. Especially Jen."

Eric walked closer to Wes, extending his hand downwards.

"I don't exactly know the specifics behind time travel, and whether or not you can see them again," Eric admitted. "But I do know for a fact that right now, in the year 2001, there is a city relying on us to help support and encourage them. And I also know for a fact that I can't do that without you."

Wes felt as though he was in the Twilight Zone. Had it been just a week ago and Eric had been given the ultimatum to deliver such sentiment to Wes or to die, Wes was pretty confident he would've picked death within sentence. Despite his initial shock towards Eric's words, he knew they were completely right. He couldn't just sit in the year 2001 doing nothing when he had to help build the future that Jen, Trip, Katie and Lucas would come from.

"I'm in," Wes confirmed, grasping Eric's hand, who then pulled him up. "Partner."

To be continued...


End file.
